Wholemeal Chocolate Nutella Cookies … felt like snug cookies. Something secure and comforting about them. The idea of course came from developing a comforting bite which felt ‘snug’ … thanks to this fabulous Snugg iphone cover I received in the mail the other day.
I love the Snugg line of products. They spell quality and durability which is what I look for in anything I would pick. I have been using the Snugg iPad cover for a while now, and I love it to bits. The iPad is ‘safer’ in the kitchen than ever before, and stands beautifully while I dash back and forth! Similarly, the iPhone case spells quality. In addition, this premium case sports some fantastic features.
– Reduces Cell Phone Radiation (SAR) by 92% and Hot Spot Radiation (EFI) by 90%!
– Ultra Thin, Lightweight, Sleek Design.
– Durable and Impact Resistant.
With the word snugg in mind I marched ahead with a cookie idea. I attempted to snuggly fit in some Nutella into the heart of my cookie. At the end of my experiment, wasn’t too sure if the Nutella taste came through, but the cookies were a hit alright!
Soft cake like cookies, ‘no longer tiny’ hands sneaking them away from the cookie jar one after another. They seemed to hit the right spot with the kids. With a nice deep chocolate flavour, you could barely tell that these were whole grain cookies!
Maybe it’s the recent almost 100% switchover to healthier eating & whole grains, a sign of evolving tastes. Or maybe that chocolate and wholegrain are good ‘companions’, I have had loads of luck of late. I barely ever use plain flour anymore, unless it’s a special birthday cake, or maybe partly in bread. I’ve had a patch of good luck with 100% wholewheat bread too, so I ain’t complaining!
[print_this]
Recipe: Wholemeal Chocolate Nutella Cookies
Summary: Healthy, wholemeal, deep, dark, soft, cakey chocolate cookies, with a heart of Nutella.
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes plus chilling Ingredients:
For the chocolate cookies
130g wheat flour
85g oats
40g almond meal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
200g granulated sugar
40g unsweetened cocoa powder
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Filling
50g nutella
Method:
Run all the dry ingredients in bowl of food processor to mix.
Add the wet ingredients and process briefly until a cookie dough comes together.
Divide into 24 balls and chill for half an hour.
Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Flatten each into a disk, then place a scant 1/2 tsp of Nutella into the centre and pull the dough up around it. Gently roll back into a ball, and flatten slightly. Place on cookie sheet. Repeat with rest. {You might need to grease or moisten your palms slightly if the weather is warm}
Leave to chill in freezer while you preheat the oven to 180C.
Bake for approx 25-30 minutes until the cookie feels firm to touch.
Leave on sheet for a minute, drizzle with warm caramel sauce if you like, them remove to cooling tray.
Note: Instead of flattening the disks as in step 5, you could make thumbprint cookies instead. Indent the balls with your thumb and add a scant tsp of Nutella. Bake as above.
“What is more mortifying than to feel that you have missed the plum for want of courage to shake the tree?”
Logan Pearsall Smith
Wholewheat Plum Frangipane Galette … it is strange that when the season is bidding adieu, the palpitations grow. I tend to hang on to the last fruit like they are going to go out of fashion; trying to extend their shelf life beyond reasonable measure. Plums have sadly gone. I have been happy looking at the last lot in the fridge for past 2 weeks.
Yes, indeed. That is how long I kept them, and interestingly, that is how long they stayed. Beautifully! Bidding goodbye to summer is never easy given my deep emotional bond with stone fruit. I still have one last batch of frozen plums. Thoughts of sorbet, granita, fro yo dance in my head!
I had this recent conversation with a friend where I mixed up my grey cells and gray cells. It was so funny, by the end of it nothing looked right. I knew I needed help! Good time to hand over to an online editor. I used Grammarly to grammar check this post. It took care of what they taught me at school. Grammarly carries out plagiarism checks too! So cool!!
Did I mention my uber healthy baking spree of late? I have always attempted to keep my baking healthy. I went one baby step further with this Wholewheat Plum Frangipane Galette. I’ve never made a galette or pie with mainly whole wheat in the pastry. I am usually haunted with scary thoughts. What if it all falls apart; what if the pastry does not hold; and what if it does not taste good?
Whole wheat is not what one might traditionally use in pie crusts, but trust me, it works well. You got to give it some extra TLC. Surprisingly, the crust was buttery, light, flaky and delicious! A bit fragile, but expected. Take baby steps from all purpose towards whole grain. There’s a whole new world out there!
This pie crust is not a 100% wholewheat. I added a teeny bit of plain flour. Next time, I’ll be bolder. See baby steps? I’m doing it. You can too.
I made lemonade that day as well….plum lemonade to be precise. Not to be served with the moorish galette, but here anyway. Simple and a fun way to include more fruit in your diet. The kids gulped it down greedily asking for some everyday. Too late! It’s goodby plums for now! We’re already staring fall in the face.
I’ve made plenty of galettes. It is one of my favourite forms of pie. If you are lucky and still in plum season, then you could try making this rustic free form tart. You could always substitute plums for peaches, nectarines, cherries, strawberries, blueberries, apples, figs, pears, or frozen fruit. A combination of fruit works equally well!
[print_this]
Recipe: Wholewheat Plum Frangipane Galette
Summary: A delicious wholewheat plum frangipane galette with a light, buttery, flaky crust. Frangipane in here is as delightful as can be. It adds to the taste, and also offers a layer between the pastry and fruit. This keeps the pastry from going soggy!
Place the 2 flours and salt in the bowl of food processor and pulse to mix and repeater.
Add the chilled diced butter and lime juice and process again briefly until you have a pea sized mix.
Add chilled water 1 tbsp at a time and process until the dough comes together when pinched between your fingers.
Turn out, knead very briefly to pull together. Flatten into a round disk, wrap in cling-warp and chill for about 2 hours. {There’s a nice pastry tutorial here}
Almond Frangipane
Run all the ingredients in bowl of food processor until nice and smooth. Refrigerate until required.
Topping
Toss the plums with the lime juice and 30g sugar. Reserve in a bowl.
Preheat the oven to 190C.
Roll the pastry dough out on a large piece of parchment.
With an offset spatula, spread the frangipane over the base, leaving a border of about 1 1/2″.
Top with the resrved plums.
Gently draw the pastry up around the filling, using the parchment as a guide.
Pleat the pastry around the filling, pressing gently into place. Transfer onto baking tray.
Give the border a quick brush with milk, sprinkle over the remaining 15g brown sugar.
Bake for about 50-60 minutes until the crust is golden brown and firm.
Cool for at least an hour before cutting. Slice and serve with unsweetened low fat cream.
Note: We enjoyed the galatte chilled as well. It kept well in the fridge for 2 days.
“The body is the soul’s house. Shouldn’t we therefore take care of our house so that it doesn’t fall into ruin?”
Philo
Amaranth Pom Parfaits & Amaranth Dark Chocolate Brownies. Can you tell that amaranth is my latest obsession? I have been baking smart of late. Eating smart too, and hopefully spreading the word a little! You might have noticed that I am reaching more often than ever before for whole grains in my recipes. It’s a practice I strive to stick too, and have been lucky so far.Not every time though. Amaranth is one ingredient that has caught my imagination of late. Sangeeta introduced me to it, inspiring me to experiment with this wonder grain. I strive to find better ways of including it in our diet. Popped amaranth eluded me until Cookaroo was generous enough to give me a bag!
Like buckwheat and quinoa, amaranth is an especially high-quality source of plant protein including two essential amino acids, lysine and methionine, which are generally low in grains. Amaranth is packed with iron and calcium, and its fiber content is triple that of wheat. Amaranth is completely gluten-free and suitable for those with celiac disease; what’s more, it is an especially digestible grain, making it a traditional food for people recovering from illness or transitioning from a fast or cleanse.
The Pomegranate Salsa Parfaits made for interesting {and pretty if I may say so myself} glassfuls. A nice breakfast dish, maybe an evening snacky dessert! I love making pom salsa. It’s got a complex mix of flavours with ingredients that pair beautifully with each other.
Got the recipe while googling for a pom salsa. Happily enough I had everything on hand that day. We had friends over. I’ve made it a few times after that too. The flavours are refreshing. Different too. As deep, red Kandhari anaars or poms begin to flood the market again, it’s a great side to make for flat bread or crackers.
The salsa worked well for these Amaranth Pom Parfaits too. Layer them, drizzle some pom molasses over them, leave them for a bit, … and dig in! Not quite what kids might like, but we enjoyed them.
So I got more adventurous. Ordered more amaranth online, didn’t realise I hadn’t ordered the flour. It was in grain form! We live and learn, and so did I. Tried milling it in the thermomix but didn’t quite get what I was looking for. Yet made brownies with it. They came out quite good. Gluten free too. The only drawback was that you could feel the graininess coming through. Still, the kids enjoyed them. {Recipe once I get the flour!}
With all these healthy choices I am beginning to include in my everyday food, it’s a good time to review SmartEats … a subscription service to delicious, natural & healthy snacks in the NCR.
We at SmartEats have started, what we call a “Healthy Eating Movement” towards making us and our children, healthier and happier. We have teamed up with well-known nutrition specialists to develop & find snacks which are delicious, unique and healthy. These snacks are 100% natural, made from whole grains, high in micro nutrients, high in Fiber and have balanced calories.
SmartEats is a convenient and tasty way of healthier snacking for you and your family. Your monthly membership of Rs. 499 delivers a box full of 100% Natural, Delicious, Unique and Healthy snacks along with smart-living ideas to your door. Each box contains 5 new & exciting snacks. These snacks are a delectable mix of Baked & Roasted snacks , various flavors of Nuts, and Fruits recipes, Rich tea infusions, Herbal drinks and much more. It’s a great way to “EXPLORE & DISCOVER”.
The box arrived for a review and I was impressed with the neat packaging, both outside and inside. It had the promised 5 exciting snacks within. I reached for the nuts first. They didn’t disappoint. Honey Chili Nuts … very very nice. Well balanced, slightly chili but the honey fixed that. The Very Berry Strawberry bits were absolutely delicious and addictive. A great snacking option I thought. However I got curious as they were really sweet. Did ask the SmartEat folk who told me that liquid glucose had been added to enhance their sweetness. I’m not sure if that still makes them healthy. I’d sooner opt for fresh fruit. Next came the Lean Bean Mix which was very nice too. Maybe a little over spicy for me but nice flavours. A healthy mix of baked/roasted lentils. I think this can make a good base for a bhel puri like snack too. Some chopped onions, tomatoes, fresh coriander, a dash of lime … and I’d be a happy camper! Marching on to snack four, and it was time for Parsley Pepper Crackers. I liked these even though they could be cheesier. They were really good with the pom salsa {and the Baba Ghanouj & Muhammara I had on hand that day}. The Oat & Raisin Cookies are the only snacks that disappointed. To be fair to them, on giving the company feedback, they tried to fix the problem and sent me another batch. Cookies for me are truly comfort food, something I would definitely reach out for again and again. That comfort is lacking here. These were too oaty, and far from crisp. The nut-oatmeal balance didn’t quite excite the palette, and I would probably give these a pass the next time.
You can reach SmartEats here. The good thing about this exciting new company is that they are eager to listen, and willing to adapt. I am impressed by the variety they have on offer, new snacks each month!
Interestingly enough, there seems to be a lot happening on the food front of late. In recent times, emphasis on food safety standards has taken centre stage in the global food trade, alongside food security concerns. Assocham cohosted a day long event with TÜV SÜD … Safe Future Now Summit for Food safety – a collaborative approach today for a sustainable future in Gurgaon yesterday. I was privileged to be invited to moderate a panel discussion on “Effective implementation of new age media strategy, to safeguard consumer’s interest and enhance company’s reputation.“
As globalization increases and the food chain gets increasingly complex, it is natural for incidents of food safety to increase. Food safety was the key message delivered touching upon the power of social media, the burgeoning online market economy, how to contain a safety issue, and how to use the power of social media the leverage a food crisis to the benefit of all concerned. The consumers role as an important entity in the food chain was established. {On the panel that late afternoon were Mr. Max Hegerman, Managing Director, Edelman Digital, Mr. Samir Kuckreja, President, National Restaurant Association of India, Liz Fendt, Vice President, International Marketing, TÜV SÜD and Kishi Arora, Chef}
[print_this]Recipe:Amaranth Pom Parfaits
Summary: Popped amaranth, pom salsa and honey yogurt layer together to make an interesting breakfast parfait. This could even double up as a low cal dessert. {I eyeballed the ingredients. Am including a rough guideline below}
“I am putting real plums into an imaginary cake.”
Mary McCarthy
Upside Down Plum Cake … if you are like me, you’ve probably been fascinated with baking cakes for years. I have almost baked every upright cake that caught my fancy, innovating and playing along the way. Almost every cake but an upside down one. For some reason, it never did appeal to me. Until now …
It never caught my fancy because I believed most upside down cakes were pineapple upside down cakes. The colour play was never good enough to catch my attention. Besides, I have never come across a reasonably healthy upside cake that tempted me to pick up my pots and pans.It’s strange that you suddenly can’t get enough of a fruit when you get to the end of the season. What’s not to love about plums, least of all that they are one of the most nutritious fruits around. They are versatile. You could enjoy them endlessly in the raw form, toss them into salads, make crumbles and crisps, frozen yogurt, or maybe a plum lemonade. I’ve done all that.Then a few days ago when I looked at them, a voice in my head said plum upside-down cake. It was the day the baking bug seemed to have hit FB. Everyone was baking something … fig cakes, bread, all good stuff! I was baking too {so what’s new}. That bowlful looked at me. How many could I possibly eat? Still obsessed with baking with fruit, here’s what I did …
I experimented a little here and there, and came up with this. Baking can be so rewarding. I used an all time favourite as a base recipe, the Buttermilk Pound Cake. The Upside Down Plum Cake knocked my breath out when I flipped it upside down. Rustic pretty! Soft, moist, flavourful … some creme fraiche or low fat cream on the side. Better still, some good ole vanilla ice cream.
’twas delicious! Just what I hoped it would be. The luscious deeply coloured and baked plums won me over. They looked moorish, dripping fruit juices right back into the cake, moistening it with beautiful flavours.
The good thing is that while baking the plums release some delicious juices. Once baked, when you turn the cake upside down, these delicious plum juices moisten the warm cake making it heavenly. I’ve used plain flour, whole wheat flour and almond meal in my cake.
[print_this]
Recipe: Upside Down Plum Cake
Summary:The Plum upside-down cake turned out out delicious … warm, moist, full of flavours, almost like a pudding cake. Healthy & pretty too.
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 1 hour, 15mins Ingredients:
Cake batter
70g whole wheat flour
60g plain flour
50g almond meal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
100g unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup vanilla or plain sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
100ml buttermilk {or substitute recipe below}
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Plum topping
8 plums, halved, pitted
30g brown sugar
15g unsalted butter
15ml cream
Method:
Grease and flour the sides of a 7″ round tin. Line the bottom with parchment.
Plum topping
Place the butter, sugar and cream in a frying pan and simmer until melted. Stir to being together. Place plum halves cut side down and simmer for 2 minutes only. Cool slightly, then transfer to the parchment lined base of baking tin, cut side down. Pour any remaining sauce over the plums.
Preheat the oven to 170C.
Cake batter
Sift the flours with the almond meal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Reserve.
Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract and almond extract.
With beater on low add the flour and buttermilk alternately in three lots. Pour over the plum lined base. Tap gently to even out.
Bake for 50-60 minutes till golden brown on top, and the tester comes out clean.
Allow to cool in tin for 30 minutes, then run a knife around the edges, and in one swift move, turn onto serving platter.
Note: Best eaten the same day. Refrigerate any remains.
“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts!”
James Beard
Whole Wheat Walnut Garlic Cheddar Fougasse … nothing can be as comforting as the smell of bread baking. Nothing! And this bread took me by surprise. Rustic, nutty, earthy, full of flavour, great texture and a good bite. I couldn’t ask for anything more in fresh bread, and fougasse is one of my all time favourites.
Googling for whole wheat focaccia took me to a NY Times feature by Martha Rose Shulman. Recipes for health as it was aptly marked, Shulman says of this bread “What’s called focaccia in Italy is fougasse in Provence. Fougasse, though, is often shaped like a leaf, which is easy to do and very pretty. The nutty, toasty whole grain bread is irresistible.”I couldn’t agree more. If you’ve visited my blog on and off, you might have noticed my love for the French Fougasse. I love the rustic appeal it offers and the fact that you can stuff it with pretty much whatever you like and the flavours call your name. Roasted bell peppers, gouda, fresh herbs, nuts etc. Leaf like in appearance, this flatbread is moorish!
It was just the therapy I needed this Monday! The day began like a nightmare! Broken toilet flush 6am. Reversed the car to drop the kids to school and heard a massive THUD! 7am … The engine underplate had broken while wading through the ‘rivers of North India‘ the previous night. When it rains, it really pours; the city was flooded! Thankfully got the kids out of my way and to school, to come back home to find I had run out of cooking gas! {Yes we still have cylinders}. Decided to spring clean and walked straight into a sharp corner which narrowly missed my eye. Blood poured down the side of my face! Mr PAB was in Hong Kong … and I could have wept!
Bravely I did not! I decided to bake bread instead! What a good decision. Nothing like some yeasty dough to drown your sorrows into. It worked like magic. And the recipe came out amazingly good! I could visualize the bread loving younger teen take a deep happy breath as he entered home from school. “You’ve made bread!!”, he’d exclaim, stars in his eyes!
That is enough to mend a bad day! What I didn’t visualise was how much the dieting diva, carb cutting daughter would love it. I made half of the dough into fougasse and saved the rest for another day {it refrigerates well for a day or two}. With garlic flavouring the dough beautifully, and walnuts and cheddar making it divine, the bread was history as soon as the teens got home!
Recipes like this are seriously therapeutic. I forgot about the car, fixed the broken loo, got the gas going. Left the car for Mr PAB. He would come back and take over everything! I was born to bake, and I was loving it!! The smell of dough rising and bread baking is enough to make the soul happy!
With the good verdict on the fougasse, I pulled the remaining dough out of the fridge the next day and patted a focaccia into shape. That came out yummy too. Got stuffed with everything I had on hand, ending up as sandwich for dinner.
Summary:Whole Wheat Walnut Garlic Cheddar Fougasse … nothing can be as comforting as the smell of bread baking. The bread took me by surprise. Rustic, nutty, earthy, full of flavour, great texture and a good bite. Couldn’t ask for anything more in fresh bread. Fougasse is one of my all time favourites. Yield: 1 large or 2 smaller fougasses or focaccia, about 12 generous servings. Minimally adapted from NY Times
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil if making focaccia (optional)
fresh herbs
sea salt for sprinkling over top
Method:
In the bowl of a standing mixer, or in a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water. Add the olive oil, minced garlic, whole wheat flour, all-purpose and salt and mix together briefly using the paddle attachment. Change to the dough hook and beat for 8 to 10 minutes at medium speed, adding the remaining flour as necessary. The dough should eventually form a ball around the dough hook and slap against the sides of the bowl as the mixer turns but it will be sticky. Remove from the bowl, flour your hands and knead for a minute on a lightly floured surface, and shape into a ball.
{Thermomix: Place all dough ingredients in bowl of TM and process at Speed 6 for 10 seconds. Then knead at interval speed for 3 minutes}
If kneading the dough by hand, dissolve the yeast in the water with the sugar as directed. Stir in the walnut oil, whole wheat flour, salt, and all-purpose flour by the half-cup, until the dough can be scraped out onto a floured work surface. Knead, adding flour as necessary, for 10 minutes, until the dough is elastic. Shape into a ball.
Oil a large bowl with olive oil. Place the dough in it, rounded side down first, then rounded side up. Cover tightly with plastic and let rise in a warm spot for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or in the refrigerator for 4 to 8 hours, until doubled.
Punch down the dough. Divide the dough into two equal pieces for smaller breads. You can also make 1 large fougasse or focaccia.
Roll one half out to about an 12″ oval, spread half the walnuts and cheddar. Fold over the dough 2-3 times on itself to incorporate the stuffing.
Shape each back into a flattish ball, then fold the bottom third up, & top third down to make an oblong.
Roll into ovals with a flat base, cut slits diagonally, three on each side. Pull slightly to open the cuts, leaf like. {Repeat with other half, else make focaccia with it}
Place on parchment lined baking sheets. Cover with cling wrap & leave to double for 35-40 minutes while you preheat the oven.
Preheat the oven to 220C, brush the loaves with olive oil, sprinkle over sea salt and fresh herbs.
Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes till golden brown. Brush with more olive oil as they come out of the oven. Cool on racks. Serve warm {that’s how we love it} or at room temperature.
“Ice cream is happiness condensed.”
Jessie Lane Adams
Peach Mango Low Fat Ice Cream… nothing screams more comfort in summer than frozen fruit dessert! I do loads of frozen yogurt every summer. The last week I looked at my fridge full of mangoes and peaches and just knew an ice cream was in the future. There are days when fro yo will satisfy the craving, and then there are days when I want to ‘up the luxury‘. Just a teeny bit. A little cream can do no harm!It was one of those days where a creamy ice cream craving was developing. It began with the trappings of a fro yo, and ended up being a low-fat ice cream. This was such fun to make and absolutely delicious. Maybe next time, we’ll see a nice, rich, full fat ice cream. Maybe!
With stone fruit a plenty this summer, now the monsoon showers are literally drowning North India. As we wade through the streets, I think we’re looking at the last peaches and plums of the season. Cherries have been bid adieu, and peaches look set to follow! Plums appear to be the hardiest of the lot. Mangoes, of course, will be here for a while longer, another month at least. North India has seen a really good stone fruit crop this year. The Peach Mango Low Fat Ice Cream is a wonderful and delicious way to celebrate it. Creamy, fruity, slight undertones of almond, it turned out bowl licking good. I froze some in a bowl, and piped the rest into kulfi / popsicle molds. I loved how sweetly the popsicles turned out. So easy to serve this way, and such a treat to see the kids greedily lick the sticks even when there was nothing left on them! Coco got lucky with a few licks too!It’s been a satisfying season and I really love how versatile stone fruit are. We’re looking at the fag-end of the season, so I intend to pack in as much as possible … into our tummies, and hopefully onto the blog too!
You can find a variety of Stone Fruit Recipes on PAB. Do you have a favourite stone fruit recipe? I’d love to know!
[print_this]Recipe: Peach Mango Low Fat Ice Cream
Summary: A refreshing and delicately flavoured low-fat frozen treat. The addition of almond extract gives this Peach Mango Low Fat Ice Cream a special flavour. This is a nice way to preserve excess fruit of summer for later use.
Prep Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes plus freezing time Ingredients:
5 peaches, peeled, stoned, diced
2 mangoes, peeled, stoned, diced
200ml low-fat cream, chilled
200g hung yogurt {thick}, chilled
200g castor sugar
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp vodka
few drops almond extract
Method:
This is a Thermomix recipe. You can make it with the same proportions if you have an ice cream maker or by hand too.
Place chopped fruit in a bowl and freeze overnight.
Place cream, yogurt, frozen fruit, vodka, almond extract, lime juice and sugar in bowl of TM. Process for 1 minute at Speed 10 till thick and smooth. Taste and just sugar if required. Process further, scraping sides with TM spatula, until well blended.
Serve immediately or place in freezer safe bowl or pipe into popsicle molds in freezer.
